Abstract:

When teachers inquire into problems within the classroom, they can support their own professional development and better equip their students to address contemporary needs. Drawing on frameworks for supporting inquiry-based practices in educational settings, this study aims to elaborate a model for the assessment of inquirer teacher identity while a teacher conducts an educational innovation. The model presents inquirer teacher identity as a dynamic multiplicity of ten teachers’ competencies related to the five phases of the practice of inquiry (scan and focus, understand and explore, plan and implement, evaluate and reflect, write and present). Based on the model, a questionnaire that measures teachers’ inquiry functions during the development of an educational innovation was constructed. The questionnaire is comprised of ten sub-scales with 43 Likert-type items in total. The questionnaire was shared on teachers’ groups on social media and on special interest online groups, and teachers who actively develop innovative projects with their classes were requested to fill it in. 111 Greek in-service teachers from all sectors completed the questionnaire. Findings revealed that in-service teachers conduct inquiry functions to a considerable extent during the development of educational innovation.

Keywords:

inquirer teacher identity, action research, educational innovation, questionnaire